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El Anatsui Exhibition at the Goodman Gallery

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Goodman Gallery

address

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Johannesburg, South Africa

date

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27.11.2017

end date

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20.12.2017

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from 0:00 till 0:00

The work of El Anatsui, one of the most influential contemporary artists working today, will be featured at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg from 25 November to 20 December 2017. Meyina is the artist's first solo exhibition in South Africa.

Meyinawas first realised at the Prince Claus Gallery, an exhibition which ran until April this year. Watch our short film about the exhibition here.

Over the past four decades, Anatsui has created a vast body of work that has expanded the language of contemporary sculpture in Africa and internationally. Meyina (meaning ‘I am going’ in Ewe), curated by independent curator and Director of CCA Lagos Bisi Silva, presents a portrait of the artist by bringing together disparate fragments that form a whole. The works engage with and comment on African history, post-colonial conditions, as well as the daily realities and experiences on the continent.

Alongside these works, recently constructed out of recycled materials, there will be a collection of archival objects on exhibit, which have been selected by Bisi Silva from Anatsui’s studio, study and library in Nsukka, Nigeria. These include sketchbooks, drawings, letters, exhibition planning and instruction documents; books Anatsui reads and is featured in; as well as brochures and exhibition publications to which he has contributed, especially those of Nigerian artists.

On a conceptual level, Meyina explores the notion of a limitless horizon, presenting an immersive space where possibilities become real. Paraphrasing Ghanaian author Koffi Amyidoho, Anatsui states: ‘When I am in the studio it is as if the sky bends down to have a word with the earth.’ Indeed the works, which can grow to be massive in scale, are simultaneously luminous and weighty, meticulously fabricated, yet malleable.

In 2009, El Anatsui received the Prince Claus Award for “the outstanding aesthetic and intellectual qualities of his creations, for his innovative use of materials to highlight the dialogue between culture and nature, and for his dedicated and inspirational role in the development of the visual arts.”

El Anatsui Exhibition at the Goodman Gallery

The work of El Anatsui, one of the most influential contemporary artists working today, will be featured at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg from 25 November to 20 December 2017. Meyina is the artist's first solo exhibition in South Africa.
Meyina was first realised at the Prince Claus Gallery, an exhibition which ran until April this year. Watch our short film about the exhibition here.
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El Anatsui Exhibition at the Goodman Gallery

The work of El Anatsui, one of the most influential contemporary artists working today, will be featured at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg from 25 November to 20 December 2017. Meyina is the artist's first solo exhibition in South Africa.
Meyina was first realised at the Prince Claus Gallery, an exhibition which ran until April this year. Watch our short film about the exhibition here.
Over...